I am married to man who loves chocolate cake. You may be thinking to yourself, “Yeah, don’t we all?”, but his appreciation for baked chocolate goodness would easily be considered professional, so I try not to bake a full size cake too often. It’s just the two of us in the house and neither of us are quitters, so I only bake them when we have reinforcements to help us enjoy the decadence.
This “little” chocolate cake is what I have been baking lately when one or both of us have a craving for some fluffy chocolate goodness. It is enough for 4 slices with a perfectly sized batch of whipped chocolate frosting… exactly what you need for a small crowd or dessert for Tuesday and Thursday.
If you are looking for a small batch chocolate cake with chocolate frosting then you should definitely give this tasty little treat a try. Let’s get it started…
Everything comes together in the same bowl and by the time your oven is preheated, your cake will be ready to bake.
Begin by whisking a large egg with 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and 1/4 cup of whole milk until the egg is completely broken down.
Next, add 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and whisk until fully combined.
Add 1 cup of cake flour or all purpose flour along with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder and 3 tablespoons of natural unsweetened cocoa powder and mix until mostly combined.
Now for my all time favorite chocolate cake ingredient… hot coffee. Yep, the final ingredient is 1/3 cup of hot coffee. If you do not have coffee in the house, you can use hot water, but coffee really helps to bring the best out in chocolate flavors. You won’t taste coffee in the finished product, but you will taste rich, bold chocolate, which is something we can all appreciate.
If you are wondering why “hot” coffee, allow me to explain. Adding hot liquid to this cake batter will help to dissolve the brown sugar and activate the baking soda along with adding moisture of course.
Carefully mix the coffee into the batter and transfer the batter into a well greased parchment lined baking dish. The batter will be pretty loose, so it pours beautifully. I usually bake this cake in a 9″x5″ loaf pan, but it will work good in an 8″ or 9″ round or square baking pan too. You could also bake two 4 inch round cakes to make a mini layer cake. Adorable, right?
Bake the cake in a 350 degree oven for 32-35 minutes if you are using a loaf pan or 22-25 minutes for a round or square pan. Once a toothpick will come out of the center of the cake clean, it is done.
While the cake is baking, whip up a batch of chocolate whipped cream frosting…
Use an electric hand mixer to cream a tablespoon of room temperature butter with 1/4 cup of cold heavy cream, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 1 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar until you have a creamy chocolatey frosting.
Once the frosting is made and the cake is baked you have some decisions to make. Depending on how quickly you want… or need to enjoy this wonderful little cake, you should technically let the cake cool before adding the frosting. I like to pop the cake into the freezer and the frosting into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes before combining them.
If you simply cannot wait for things to cool off a bit then add your frosting and enjoy it as it melts. While melted frosting does not maintain its original texture, it is still fabulously delicious. There are no wrong decisions here…
This cake is fantastic. It is moist, rich and full of bold chocolate flavor. The crumb is tender and the texture is absolutely perfect. The whipped chocolate frosting is light and creamy and a wonderful pairing for this cake.
This little chocolate cake is a recipe that you should always have on hand, because you just never know when you will need a little something sweet…
A Little Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup of whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- a pinch of salt
- 1 cup of cake four or all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
- 3 tablespoons of natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup of coffee or water, hot
Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting
- 1 tablespoon of butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup of heavy cream, cold
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Whisk 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, 1/4 cup of whole milk and a large egg in a large bowl until completely combined
- Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/2 cup of brown sugar and whisk until fully incorporated
- Add 1 cup of cake or all purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder, 3 tablespoons of natural unsweetened cocoa powder and a pinch of salt and whisk until mostly combined
- Add 1/3 cup of hot coffee or water and mix until fully combined
- Transfer the batter into a greased and parchment lined 9”x5” loaf pan or 8” or 9” round or square baking pan
- Bake the cake in a 350 degree oven for 32-35 minutes for a loaf pan or 22-25 minutes for a round or square pan
- Once a toothpick comes out of the center of the cake clean, transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let cool fully before frosting
- Make the frosting by creaming a tablespoon of room temperature butter with 1/4 cup of cold heavy cream, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 1 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar with an electric hand mixer until you have a creamy chocolatey frosting.
- Once the cake has fully cooled, add your frosting and enjoy!
